Advertising directed to iTV users (typically video advertisements and banner advertisements) is expected to grow rapidly along with the growth of iTV, the Internet, and E-commerce activity. Traditional methods of advertising have been found to be generally ineffective in drawing responses from users. Traditionally, television advertisements and web advertisements have not been targeted to particular users but are instead targeted based on the audience associated with the television show or Internet content site on which the advertisement will appear.
A more effective means of advertising is advertising targeted to particular users. For example, it is known to profile users by determining their demographics and interests, and to selectively send advertisements to only those users having particular profiles. Information on users can be obtained, e.g., from the users themselves through questionnaires. However, in these profiling methods, there is no assurance of user privacy or the accuracy of the profiling data. Also, there is no way of accurately matching the advertising to user profiles.
A need exists for a method and system for accurately and anonymously profiling users. A need also exists for a method and system for accurately matching users of given profiles to content to which they will likely be most receptive.